“This happens a lot to our team,” said Claire McCarthy, who scored a game-high 18 points. “We don’t do well in the first half and then in the second half we come back.

Cassidy Kolter drove for a bucket, Claire McCarthy banked in a 14-footer and Jenny Mistretta drained a 3-pointer. Allie Harris hit a 10-footer from the corner and suddenly it was a six-point STA lead, 46-40, with 5:06 to play.

“They made a good run,” said STA assistant coach Paul Harhen, filling in for head coach Sabrina Payeur who was serving the second game of a two-game suspension after receiving two technical fouls on Feb. 1 against Windham. “It seems to be the way we do it. But this time they really held together as a team.”

At one point during the first half of the season, STA’s M.O. had been to build a lead and then lose it late. Harhen talked about that at the half.

“We can’t let that happen,” he said. “We can’t just say it’s not going to happen, we have to execute. I think they did a good job with that. I got a little nervous there when it got down to six.”

St. Thomas’ two inside players, Meaghan Flynn and Alyssa Coneys, returned to the game at that point after sitting with four fouls.

Coneys promptly fouled out, but OR missed a chance to get closer when Sara Messler misfired on the front end of a one and one.

Flynn was fouled and hit both shots to get the margin back to eight, but Mistretta’s banker in the lane cut the margin to six again (48-42) at 4:06 — OR’s last points of the night as it turned out,

Flynn notched two more points with an inside deuce to make it 50-42.

The Bobcats just couldn’t make their foul shots.

“I figured our free-throw shooting has got to get better,” said OR coach Dave Nichols, whose team was 2 for 10 from the line in the first half. “It didn’t. It got worse. That’s usually a strength. We were 22 of 27 in a game recently. Who knows. The blizzard did it to us, I guess.”

McCarthy, who scored 10 points in the third quarter, had three tries at two shots in a 56-second span and missed all six.

“I don’t know why. I just couldn’t make one,” McCarthy said. “It’s like after you can’t make one, it’s a cycle.”

It was even more painful for OR because their defense held the Saints scoreless during that stretch.

But finally Sullivan broke through, hitting the first two of six consecutive free throws as the Saints pulled away at the end to win by 14.

“I’m probably 50-50 (from the foul line), I’m never that consistent,” Sullivan added. “That was good because they could have taken that stretch and gone with it.”

St. Thomas roared to a 32-17 lead at the break, forcing 21 turnovers, and riding the long-range shooting of Mariah Desmarais, who scored nine of her co-team high 14 points in the first 16 minutes, all on 3-pointers. Flynn also had 14 points, 10 in the second half.

Down 10-9 after the first quarter, St. Thomas went on a 15-1 run to start the second quarter to go up 24-11. Desmarais sparked the run with two 3-pointers and Hannah Turgeon scored all seven of her points during that span.

Alyssa Coneys added all nine of her points in the first half, while Sullivan chipped in with eight.

Mistretta added eight for OR, while Harris had six.

STA, which was 2-6 at one point, is currently tied for 11th in D-II, but could rise as high as ninth if it can finish strong.

“We’re all pumped up and ready to win the next four games,” Flynn said. “We’re going all out.”

OR is tied for 15th, but would certainly like to finish there or higher and not in 16th, which would likely mean a trip to No. 1 and unbeaten Lebanon.

OR hosts Kingswood tonight, which is Pink Night to support breast cancer awareness. STA plays at Kennett, also tonight.